The museum’s curator of social and working history Vyki Sparkes said it had been an “incredible challenge to preserve” the last remaining piece of the object.

“As the Museum of London, it’s important that we display things that reflect the highs and lows of living in the city, today as well as in the past,” she said.

“Fatbergs are disgusting, fascinating things which mark a particular moment in London’s history, created by people and businesses who discard rubbish and fat which London’s Victorian sewer system was never designed to cope with.”

A hazmat suit on display at the Museum of London (David Parry/PA)

Thames Water spokeswoman Becky Trotman urged people not to “feed the fatbergs… growing under our feet”.

She added: “The Whitechapel fatberg became a global celebrity but we didn’t think for a second it would end up on display at a museum.

“Fatbergs are lurking, congealing and growing fast under our feet and as soon as we clear one, another is growing somewhere else in our sewer network.”